


nerd

by helios_ (neocitz)



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Drabble, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-23
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-04-26 19:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14409228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neocitz/pseuds/helios_
Summary: Jeno tries to tutor Donghyuck in chemistry.Keyword: tries.





	nerd

**Author's Note:**

> un-beta'd

‘What are you? _Donghyuck!’_ Jeno hisses as he watches his friend-slash-lab-partner scurry into the library. Donghyuck’s got his chemistry textbook and pencil case tucked under one arm, and a mug in the other. ‘You’re going to get in trouble for this!’

‘It’s worth it,’ Donghyuck snarls as he sets his books down. He takes a long swig of his contraband coffee. ‘I had to be up at _six_ for choir. And we spent almost the whole time working on the baritones.’

‘I was up at six too?’

‘Not all of us are morning people, _Jeno.’_

Donghyuck rolls his eyes and it’s so dramatic that Jeno can’t help laughing at him. ‘Why are you like this?’ he says, shaking his head. ‘You know we’re not allowed open containers in the library.’

Jeno can’t help looking for Mrs Howe, the older librarian who has ruled over the building since eras gone past. She’s got a nose for coffee and chocolate, and isn’t afraid of kicking students out if they’ve got banned substances within the building.

‘I don’t care, I’ve seen Mr K with open coffee in here. I have _photo evidence_ ,’ Donghyuck drains the last of the coffee with a dramatic gulp, slamming the now empty cup down on the table.

‘Fine, but I’m not taking the blame for it,’ Jeno humours Donghyuck as he flicks through the textbook.

‘No, she likes you too much,’ Donghyuck snorts. ‘ _Nerd_.’

‘I am not a nerd,’ Jeno sniffs. ‘You’re the one who goes to extra history seminars at the uni for fun.’

‘You literally got invited to science camp, because of that physics competition last year. Who does that?’

‘And I turned it down because I had cross country!’ Jeno protests.

‘You turned it down because Jaemin couldn’t go and you didn’t want to go alone.’

Donghyuck looks up from his textbook and he is _very_ unimpressed, brow furrowed and lips pursed into a pout. It takes a lot of effort not to lean across and kiss the expression off his face. Instead, Jeno nudges Donghyuck lightly with his elbow, once and then once again just so the boy breaks into giggles.

‘Admit that you’re a bigger nerd than me,’ he insists and Donghyuck shakes his head.

‘Who’s tutoring who in chem right now? Science nerd.’

‘That’s only because we did history yesterday,’ Jeno whines, because this is _cheating_. ‘You cannot use this argument against me.’

Donghyuck laughs, cutting through the library and he gives a sort of shrug. ‘Fine, we’re both nerds.’

Jeno can’t help the smile that works across his face, hiding his eyes for a minute. He lets out a little sound of agreement even as he flicks through the textbook to the questions they’re supposed to be working on.

‘Did you attempt any of these last night?’ Jeno asks, and Donghyuck leans in to read the questions. He mumbles the words under his breath as he reads them, a habit he’s had as long as Jeno’s known him, and compares them against his own notes.

Jeno can hide the way his breath catches, when Donghyuck’s pressed up against his side. Jeno can hide the sounds of his heart thundering against his chest when Donghyuck turns that smile on him. Jeno can hide the way that joking with Donghyuck makes his shoulders relax, despite all the tension that runs through him.

But he can’t deny it.

‘I did most of them, I just couldn’t understand the last one,’ Donghyuck doesn’t bother sitting up properly, just keeps leaning against Jeno. He only turns his head up to look at Jeno, and it’s so endearing that Jeno can’t help but stare for a long moment.

He’s fairly sure that he and Donghyuck would get a lot more done if he didn’t spend half their tutoring sessions just _staring_ at the boy.

‘Mr Lee!’

Mrs Howe is standing two tables away and her eyes are fixed on the (empty) mug between the two boys.

‘ _Jeno!’_ Donghyuck pulls away with a horrified gasp, even as his eyes betray the amusement and pure evil that is racing through him. ‘I told you it wasn’t worth it, even if you had to be up at six this morning.’

Jeno lets out a groan, and he reaches out to swat at his younger friend.

‘Mr Lee!’ Mrs Howe’s voice raises again and Donghyuck only waits a split second before he grabs his books and mug and _runs_. ‘This is a school library!’

‘I’m going to kill you, Hyuck!’ Jeno hisses, gathering his stuff. He blurts out some sort of apology that probably sounds like a mess of syllables, before he chases after his friend. ‘I can’t believe you did that, she’s never going to let me study unsupervised again!’

Donghyuck cackles as he runs.

But the difference between them is that Donghyuck is the music captain and Jeno is a part of the cross country team. So Jeno catches Donghyuck around the waist and slows him down with a grunt, the younger boy is so light that it takes almost no effort for Jeno to stop him and pin him in place against a wall.

‘I can’t believe you did that,’ Jeno glares.

Donghyuck is panting and smiling and looking up at Jeno with so much glee that it’s almost blinding. Jeno’s not going to let it distract him. He’s absolutely not going to let it break him from the irritation that is coursing through him.

‘What are you going to do? _Nerd_ ,’ Donghyuck taunts again and he giggles again. Jeno can’t help it, because he’s supposed to be mad but this situation is so ridiculous and Donghyuck’s glee has always been contagious. He can’t help the laughter that starts to bubble up out of him they stand there.

‘Did we really just run out of the library because of a cup of coffee?’ Jeno says. ‘Why are we such _idiots_? We’re supposed to be the best students in this damn school.’

Donghyuck leans against the wall, tipping his head back. ‘We are,’ he says it so plainly, smile bright and eyes sparkling and Jeno can’t help it. Because there’s joy in his tone and face and Jeno wants nothing more than to share it.

He presses in closer, and Donghyuck doesn’t have time to breathe before Jeno is kissing him. It’s not a quiet kind of kiss, it’s one that has their belonging’s crashing to the ground as Donghyuck reaches up to grasp at Jeno’s shoulders. It’s one that makes the world stop for a moment as everything becomes about _them_.

Jeno’s not that much taller than Donghyuck, but he winds an arm around Donghyuck’s waist to steady him. Donghyuck seems to like that, because his fingers press tighter into Jeno and he moves in closer.

‘Finally,’ Donghyuck groans as he pulls back from the kiss. ‘I thought I’d have to pretend not to understand chem for _months_.’

Jeno laughs. ‘Is this the part where I tell you that I got an A on my last history essay?’

‘Tch,’ Donghyuck leans up again, and this time it’s to press something shorter and softer to Jeno’s lips. ‘ _Nerd_.’

**Author's Note:**

> [twt](twitter.com/neocitz)/[cc](curiouscat.me/neocitz)


End file.
